I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bucket for a power shovel.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There are many previously known buckets for power shovel of the type used for dredging, digging and the like. Many of these previously known buckets are known as "clam-shell" buckets and consist of two bucket halves which are pivotly secured to each other Each bucket half forms a scoop and, as the bucket halves pivot together, these scoops close together and form a load carrying chamber. The power shovel then moves the closed bucket with its load to the desired dumping site.
Power shovels with buckets are frequently used to remove hazardous waste and the like, especially from the bottom of waterways. In such situations, it is necessary to remove a relatively shallow volume of dirt from the bottom of the waterway since hazardous spills typically remain near the top of the soil.
There have been previously known buckets for power shovels, such as the buckets disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,923, which are especially designed to remove a relatively shallow amount of earth during a digging operation. One problem, however with these previously known buckets is that, as the buckets are moved from their open to their closed position, an amount of soil escapes from the side of the bucket. The amount of earth which escapes in this fashion is typically contaminated with the hazardous waste since it represents only the upper portion of the removed earth. Additional dredging to completely remove the hazardous waste is, therefor, required. This increases the overall cost and time required to remove the hazardous waste from the excavation site.